The Sky People
by Little.Firecracker
Summary: Tatiana lived by a set of rules. Rules of basic survival. It's how she got as far as she has. Follow those rules and you'll live to see another day. That was until the ark started sending the imprisoned children down to Earth three years too early. Earth will put Tatiana's rules into questions, while a certain person is given the power to break or heal Tatiana's heart.
1. The Rules

1\. Submission is safety.

2\. Don't take risks.

3\. Keep to yourself; Stranger danger

4\. Don't trust anyone

5\. Men are monsters; stay away from them

6\. Fight or flight, know when to do which

7\. Loud is bad

8\. Survive.

9\. Don't let anyone get close.

* * *

AN: I may add more rules later on. I really just put the rules on the list as they come into the story. Also, I wrote this story on another account about a year ago. I don't remember if I deleted it or not. I know I only had the one chapter up. I looked for it, but I can't find it, so I am posting it on this account. If you happen to find my old story on a different account then just know that I did not steal this story. This is my story just on a different account and I am hoping to finish this story.


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome To Earth

A warm breeze. Sun on your face. The smell of the ocean. These are things that Tatiana has never experienced. She has always been trapped inside a cold, dark, void that everyone calls the Ark. Ninety-seven years ago a war broke out on Earth. Nuclear bombs went off all over the world, destroying everything in its wake. Radiation seeps out of Earth, killing everything that it touches. Thankfully for humankind, there were survivors. Those survivors had created the Ark. The survivors were from twelve nations, each with operational space stations. They created the Ark, one station made up of the twelve nations' space stations.

Everyone on the Ark has been told that Earth needs another hundred years to become survivable again. Four more space-locked generations and man can go home, back to the ground. It's what everyone says, but for Tatiana, that day can't come soon enough. The Ark felt suffocating and freezing, especially the part which Tatiana is in. The jail. The part where the children are locked up for crimes they've committed. They are not yet old enough to be floated, but Tatiana knows once she is eighteen she will not be safe.

She knows of her crimes and she has accepted her sentence, but she could feel each day her sanity leaving her. She has been locked up since she was eight years old, that was nine years ago. She's sixteen now and hasn't seen another person since. The only company she receives are from the guards who look at her and only see a monster. The little girl who murdered her step-father.

Tatiana has accepted her faith, has all but welcomed the embrace of death that was sure to come in two years. She had accepted it. But what she didn't accept was what was happening to her right now.

"Prisoner 309, face the wall." Guards. Tatiana hated the guards. Hated every last one of them. Ordering her around as if she was just some animal. An animal that had no choice but to follow orders or get hurt. Tatiana had enough injuries from these guards to last for a month until she needed to be reminded again that she had no control of her life. She never will.

Tatiana turns and presses her hands against the wall, clenching her jaw and trying to not lose her tongue by speaking the vicious words towards these men. The men that have caused her to end up in this situation. If they had just listened to her...

Tatiana squeezes her blue eyes shut, forcing herself to remain calm. Getting angry would not do well to keep her safe. Submission is safety. Don't submit and you get beaten. Rule number one. "Hold out your right arm." Tatiana holds out her arm, forcing her mind to relax. They never visited her like this. They only ever visited to get her to submit to them and this wasn't just about submitting. Not this time. This is something more.

Tatiana gasps in pain as she feels the strange bracelet dig into her skin as it is placed on her. Tatiana's heart is racing inside her chest. Normally when you are floated you didn't get a bracelet, but Tatiana couldn't understand why else they'd be visiting her. On the Ark, any crime, no matter how big or small, is punishable by death or what everyone calls floating. They are kicked out of the Ark only to be sucked into space to suffocate and die. It's a quick death, but a death nonetheless, but they never get bracelets. She wasn't being floated nor submitted, so what is happening? She wants to ask, but she knows they won't answer her. They never do.

"It's too bad, we had fun with you here." Tatiana felt the bile rise in her throat as the guard's hands groped her breasts, but she allowed him to. Submission. Rule number 1 of Tatiana's survival guide. Submit to them and they will let you live. She swallowed back the disgust and allowed them to pull her out of her cell and down the walkway. The Sky Box, it was the jail for the children. She never really got to leave her cell and see the Sky Box except for when she first arrived, but that seemed like a long time ago. "Keep moving." The guard forces her to walk faster as her eyes took in the scenes around her. Every single child in the Sky Box was being hauled out of their cells and forced to walk someplace. Some place that Tatiana knew was going to be major. But where? Where were she and the others being taken?

She didn't get her answer until she was loaded into a spacecraft and thrown into space. All around her were kids, kids that were just as confused and scared as her. Across from her sat a young blonde and a dark-skinned boy. The blonde seems to be sleeping, the guards had carried her in. Tatiana could only figure that she hadn't submitted. "Welcome back." The boy says as the blonde began to wake up. Tatiana watches the two in silence. "Look-"

"Wells, why the hell are you here?" Wells. Tatiana remembered that name. That was the name of the chancellor's son. Tatiana only really knew that because she remembered him when they were kids. He was a year older than her, but they often ran into each other. The Ark wasn't that big.

"When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested." The ground. Tatiana could barely breathe as she listened. The ground. Earth.

"Earth isn't survivable yet." Tatiana spoke before she could stop herself. Her voice was rough and hoarse. She couldn't remember the last time she spoke.

"It's not." The blonde tells Tatiana.

"I came for you." Tatiana's eyes moved back to the boy. He seemed so desperate to get the girl to give him a chance. Tatiana could see obvious pain in his eyes. The two had obviously had a history. The ship shakes, causing Tatiana to hold tighter to the straps of the seatbelt on her chest.

"What was that?" The blonde asks.

"That was the atmosphere."

"I don't like this." Tatiana whispers, her eyes moving all around the ship. It wasn't small, but with all these people it felt suffocating. Tatiana was claustrophobic, her cell was enough to send her into Panic attack daily, but this was so much worst. She had so many people in her space and the walls... the walls were so close.

"Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now." The Chancellor begins. "You've been given a second chance. And as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for us, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself." Tatiana shakes her head. The way the man spoke was too condescending and proper for her liking. They were being exiled and he says to think of it as a chance at a fresh start. "We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others." So instead they rather risk a hundred children's lives than their own. "Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."

"Your dad is a dick, Wells." One of the boys shout. Tatiana can't help but think that too. She has long since accepted that all males were like that. They were all animals that sought only their own survival. "Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean. The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain." The tv begins to flicker in and out. Tatiana takes calming breaths as the ship shakes some more. She holds tightly to her seat belt and closes her eyes. "It was to be stocked with enough nonperishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years." So it would last them up to four years. That was good, but the question still remains if the land was safe or not.

"Spacewalk bandit strikes again." Tatiana opens her eyes as she hears cheering and sees a boy floating in the station.

"Go, Finn!" The girls shout. Rule number two do not take risks. It'll only lead to your downfall.

"Check it out. Your dad floated me, after all." The boy was seriously stupid. He should stay buckled in so he doesn't get hurt, but Tatiana keeps her thoughts to herself. Rule number three, keep to yourself, socializing with strangers was dangerous. That leads into rule number four, don't trust anyone.

"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy." Wells tells the boy known as Finn.

"Hey, you two, stay put if you want to live." The blonde girl shouts as two more goes to get out of their seats, but her words stop them.

"Mount Weather is life." Tatiana closes her eyes as more turbulence shakes the station. "You must locate those supplies immediately."

"Hey, you're the traitor who's been in solitary for a year." Most of the prisoners got to leave their cells, but the blonde wasn't one. Tatiana heard whispers about her, she had been the one to turn against the Ark, which got her locked up. Tatiana also has been in solitary because the guards said she was too dangerous to be let loose.

"You're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk." Tatiana had heard these stories before, but she never paid attention to the other inmates. Rule number three.

"But it was fun. I'm Finn."

"Your one resp-" Tatiana blocks out the Chancellor's words. She was tired of listening to them. Men were monsters, it's all Tatiana knew, so she saw no reason to listen to the man. Rule number five, men were monsters, don't trust them and don't let them get close.

"Stay in your seats!" The blonde yells as Tatiana keeps her eyes closed. She didn't want to see what would happen next and she certainly didn't want to be reminded that she was in a small and crowded station.

Tatiana gasps as she is thrown forward and back, the seatbelt is the only thing to keep her from flying. The entire ship shakes and quivers worst than ever. They were crashing. Tatiana knows it. "Finn, are you okay?" The blonde yells. Tatian screams as sparks fly by her head. Her breath is rapid and her heart is beating right out of her chest.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die." Tatiana whimpers as her vision flickers. She's having a panic attack. The walls were closing in on her, she couldn't breathe.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die." Tatiana whispers this over and over, her breathing growing sharper with each intake.

"Hey, you aren't going to die. Listen to me, you need to calm down and relax. You're going to be okay. Open your eyes." The blonde was trying to calm Tatiana, but she was only getting more worked up. "Listen to me, we're going to be okay. You're going to be okay. You just need to calm down. Open your eyes, okay, look at me." Tatiana opens her eyes and looks at the blonde. "My name's Clarke. What's yours?"

"T-T-Ta-Tatiana." She stutters out, her breathing getting even worst.

"Listen to me, Tatiana, it's going to be okay. You just have to trust me." Rule number four. Rule number four. Tatiana survival rules were the only thing that got her this far. She couldn't trust this girl. She didn't know her and therefore couldn't trust her. "Tatiana, look at me." Tatiana looks back at the girl. "It's going to be okay. You're strapped in tightly, right?" Tatiana checks her seatbelt before nodding. "Okay, you're going to be okay. That seatbelt will keep you in your seat and keep you safe. You're going to be okay. I'm right here, okay, I'm right here." Clarke holds out her hand. Tatiana stretches her hand out and takes Clarke's. "I'm going to keep you safe, Tatiana, I promise. You're going to be okay." Rule number four.

"I don't even know you." Tatiana whispers.

"I'm Clarke. My mom was a medic on the Ark. I learned a few things from her. I'm seventeen years old and I like to draw." Clarke tells Tatiana. Rule number four was still racing through Tatiana's mind, but Clarke had a strong grip on Tatiana's hand and it made her feel safe. She could feel her breathing evening out. "You're going to be okay, Tatiana, I promise. Just keep holding my hand and focus on my voice and your breathing." More sparks flew, causing Tatiana to jump. "It's okay, Tatiana, just breathe."

"Retrorockets ought to have fired by now." Wells says, causing Tatiana to close her eyes.

"Wells, you're not helping!" Clarke snaps. "Just give it a second. Everything on this ship is like a hundred years old."

"Clarke, there's something I have to tell you." Wells starts. "I'm sorry I got your father arrested."

"Don't you talk about my father." Tatiana didn't want to hear this.

"Please, I don't want to die knowing that you hate me."

"They didn't arrest my father, Wells. They executed him. I do hate you." Clarke looks away from Wells and back at Tatiana. "Tatiana, it's going to be okay, just keep squeezing my hand and focus on your breathing." Tatiana closes her eyes and takes deep breaths. Tatiana can hear people all around her screaming and things breaking. "Just keep breathing, Tatiana!" A sudden crash has the girls releasing each other. Tatiana groans as she hits her head against the wall. The lights aren't back on, but it isn't pitched black either.

"Listen!" A boy calls. "No machine hum."

"Whoa, that's a first." Another boy calls as buckles begin to click. Tatiana undoes her seat belt. Clarke rushes over to the injured boy, while Tatiana pulls her legs up to her chest. She has a list of rules, but they all seem to be breaking apart.

"Submit, don't take risks, keep to yourself, don't trust anyone, men are monsters." She repeats her rules quietly to herself. Simple rules. They're simple rules and she has already broken two of those simple rules. Don't trust anyone and keep to yourself.

"The outer door is on the lower level." Tatiana lifts her head, resting her cheek on her knees as she looks at where all the kids have gathered around. "Let's go." Tatiana lowers her feet to the ground and stands up. Her legs feel shaky and weak, but she forces herself to walk.

"No. We can't just open the doors." Clarke calls, causing Tatiana to look at her. Maybe she understood the rules too? Don't take risks.

"Hey, just back it up, guys."

"Come on, Tatiana." Clarke grabs her hand and starts down the latter. "Stop!" Clarke, still holding Tatiana's hand, moves through the crowd. "The air could be toxic."

"If the air is toxic, we're all dead, anyways." Tatiana sticks close to Clarke as she looks up at the man. The man was tall and older looking. He was dressed in a guard's outfit with his hair combed back. If rule number five didn't exist, Tatiana would even call him cute, but rule number five does exist. Men are monsters.

"Bellamy?" Tatiana glances over to see a dark-haired girl standing in the crowd. Did they know each other?

"That's the girl they hid under the floor." Tatiana heard one of the boys say.

"My god, look how big you are." Bellamy says as the girl stands in front of him. Tatiana had heard stories about Bellamy and Octavia. The rules on the Ark is that no woman can have more than one child, but Octavia was Bellamy's sister. He and his mother had hidden her under the floor to keep her a secret, but she was found out and they floated the children's mother. The news of it was all over the Sky Box. Tatiana had felt bad for the girl. Tatiana knew what it was like to be locked away. Except for Tatiana, she was locked in a tiny and dark closet. Tatiana had it worst.

Octavia jumped up and wraps her arms around Bellamy. Tatiana watches the two embrace with confusion. Why was this man hugging the girl? Shouldn't he be hurting her? Men are monsters. "What the hell are you wearing, a guard's uniform?"

"I borrowed it to get on the dropship." Bellamy explains. "Someone has got to keep an eye on you." This was all confusing to Tatiana. She never saw a man be kind to a female before. It was strange to see such obvious love between the siblings. Was rule number five wrong?

"Where's your wristband?"

"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year." Octavia says.

"No one has a brother!" A boy shouts.

"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor." Tatiana looks at the girl, who was obviously uncomfortable with people talking about her.

"Yeah and I'm the girl who murdered her step-father!" Everyone fell silent at Tatiana's shout. "Octavia is just another girl who had shit luck. So how about you all stop throwing stones because each and every one of you has a glass house that can shatter just as easily!" Octavia looks at Tatiana who just stares right back. Rule number six, know when to walk away and when to fight back. Her step-father learned that rule real quick. That rule is placed above the others and can cancel the others out when in play.

"Let's give them something else to remember you both by." Tatiana looks at Bellamy with a curious look. Surely he didn't mean her and Octavia. Rule number four, don't trust anyone. She didn't know him and he didn't know her.

"Like what?" Octavia asks.

"Like the both of you being the first people on the ground in one hundred years." Bellamy opens the door, causing light to stream in, blinding Tatiana for a long moment. She hadn't seen light this bright before. Her ginger hair flies back by air that comes with the door opening.

Once the door is opened everyone takes a minute to gaze at their surroundings. The light shines on Tatiana, warming her up like never before. Her pale freckled skin seems to glow with the sunlight, while her blue eyes seem to match the very sky that she is looking at.

"Come on." Octavia says as she takes her hand. The two walk out onto the ramp and take a deep breath of the air. There was a bit of a wind, which made the air a tad chilly, but Tatiana was dressed warmly. She had a pair of boots on, jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and her leather jacket. "On three." Octavia says. "One." Tatiana takes a deep breath. She felt safe with Octavia. She knew about Octavia, more so than Clarke, and she knew that Octavia had had it bad just like Tatiana. She felt confident that Octavia was okay. "Two."

"Three." They say together before stepping down onto the ground.

"It's so beautiful." Tatiana whispers.

"We're back, bitches!" Octavia yells. She's different than Tatiana. Tatiana is quiet, distant, and calculating, so she flinches at Octavia's loud voice. Rule number seven, loud is bad. Loud usually means pain.

Everyone runs out of the station and begins to scream and cheer. Tatiana moves away from the noise and towards Clarke, who was standing on the edge of the cliff and staring at a map with a troubled expression. "What's wrong?"

"Why so serious, princess?" Tatiana glances over to see Finn walking over. "It's not like we died in a fiery explosion."

"Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats." Clarke was right. Rule number two.

"You don't like being called princess, do you, princess?"

"Do you see that peak over there?" Tatiana looks at the peak in which Clarke was talking about.

"Yeah."

"Mount Weather. There's a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal." Tatiana's eyes snap over to Clarke. "They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain."

Rule number eight. Survive.

* * *

AN: Tatiana is a very fragile girl who depends on rules to survive and keep her from breaking down. Those rules have helped her over the years spent imprisoned, but on Earth those rules won't be as easy to depend on. This will eventually turn into a Bellamy love story because there aren't enough Bellamy stories and Bellamy is my favorite character. I hope you are enjoying this story so far and I hope you enjoy Tatiana. She will become more confident and less fearful over time. But do keep in mind that this is a big change for her. She went from imprisonment to a place that is unknown and much bigger than her cell. She doesn't know what to expect and she doesn't know what to be afraid of. So expect for her to be a bit overwhelmed and nervous. But she won't be like that forever. She will become a fearless warrior in the end.


	3. Chapter 2: The Forest of Hell

Tatiana lays back on the ramp, enjoying the sunlight washing over her. It felt nice to be on the ground with the sunshine and the breeze, but she also knew that she had to stay focus. Rule number eight, survival is everything. She had to keep surviving, so to do that they had to get to Mount Weather. Tatiana sits up and looks down at the map that Clarke was working on. "Do you think we have a chance on getting to where we need to be?" She asks as Wells starts down the ramp. Tatiana moves quickly off the ramp and by Clarke's side.

"Are you okay?" Wells asks Tatiana, but she ignores him and looks down at the map once more. Clarke was working on trying to figure out how far off they were from their desired location. "We got problems." Clarke looks over at Tatiana and then at Wells.

"She has a thing about guys. Just give her space."

"Not about Tatiana." Wells says, sparing a glance at the ginger. "The communication system is dead. I went to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires."

"Well, all that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather." Clarke says before nudging Tatiana. "Look, Ana, this is us. This is where we have to get to if we want to survive." Tatiana ignores the nickname and focuses on the map.

"Doesn't seem so far on paper, but I'm guessing it's going to be a long walk." Tatiana points out.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Wells asks, but Tatiana knew it wasn't a good thing to ask when she saw Clarke's face. Wells must have seen it too because he adds, "Your father."

"Ah, cool, a map." Tatiana flinches at how close the boy is to her. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer." Tatiana moves quicker than most would think possible. She slams her elbow into his stomach, causing him to stumble and cough.

"Stay out of my space." Tatiana warns. Rule number nine, don't let them get close to you. The closer they are, the more dangerous they are. She was okay with Clarke because Clarke was safe in her mind.

"Hey, hey, hey, hands off him." Tatiana turns and sees a group of boys starting their way. "He's with us." Rule number five, men are monsters.

"Relax, Ana is touchy about her space." Wells says, causing Tatiana to glare. Was Ana going to be her new name now? She wasn't a fan. "We're just trying to figure out where we are." Wells goes on, either ignoring Tatiana's glare or not noticing it.

"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" Tatiana glances over at where Bellamy and his sister stand.

"We need to find Mount Weather." Wells says. "You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."

"Screw your father." Octavia says. "What? You think you're in charge here. You and your little princess?"

"Octavia, this isn't about who's in charge. It's about survival. We need the food." Tatiana says.

"Ana is right," Clarke jumps into say.

"Again with Ana." Tatiana mumbles.

"We don't care who's in charge. We need to get to Mount Weather not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be."

"How long do you think we will make it without those supplies? We don't know anything about Earth. We don't know what is safe to eat and drink and what's not. Those supplies are life and death." Tatiana agrees. "Without them then we'll die and I am not turning to cannibalism." Tatiana turns to Clarke. "How far?"

"We're looking at a twenty-mile trek." Clarke tells her. "So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."

"I got a better idea." Bellamy spoke up. "You two go. You two," He motions towards Wells and Clarke. "Go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." Tatiana can understand where he was coming from. She grew up in the Argo station where the farmers lived. She didn't have much and what she did have her stepfather took. She was also only ten years old when she was thrown into the Sky Box.

"You're not listening. We all need to go." Wells tells them. Wells stumbles as the boy from earlier pushes him.

"Look at this, everybody-the chancellor of Earth."

"You think that's funny?" The boy trips Wells, causing him to stumble.

"Wells." One of the guys holds Clarke back, causing Tatiana to see red. She moves and kicks the guy's leg out from underneath him.

"Touch her again and it'll be the last thing you do." Tatiana presses down on the man's throat as he struggles to get her off him. "Do you understand me?" The guy nods, his face turning red. She lifts her foot and turns to the the other guy who is still determined to hurt Wells, who now has a hurt ankle. "Back off!" Tatiana snaps. Rule number five was burning in her mind, but Wells is trying to save them. He isn't a monster. Rule number six, know when to fight.

"Oh, having a girl fight for you now?" The boy calls, eyeing Tatiana over. It made her feel sick as his eyes move over her thighs and then her breasts. It reminded her of her stepfather, but before she could do anything Finn jumped down from on top of station and lands right between Tatiana and the boy. "Kid's got one leg and she's," Finn motions to Tatiana. "A girl." He turns back to the boy. "How about you wait until it's a fair fight?"

"Hey, spacewalker," Finn and Tatiana turn as Octavia walks over. "Rescue me next." Tatiana glances at Octavia. Octavia is safe enough, but she isn't Clarke.

"I get that you had a tough life, trust me, I get it, but how about you stop using it as an excuse." Tatiana glances at Octavia once more before following after Clarke. "You shouldn't pick fights." Tatiana says as she crosses her arms and stops in front of Wells and Clarke. "Fight or flight, and all of that."

"You shouldn't have gotten involved." Tatiana glances Wells over.

"I have rules. One of these rules states that men are monsters and that all they are capable of is monstrous things, but I'm also a good judge of character, for the most part, and right now you're following rule number eight, survive. You're following it rather badly, but you're still trying, so if your intention is to help us survive then I'm siding with you." Tatiana tells him. "For now. Men are still monsters and you are still capable of monstrous things."

"What happened to you?" Wells asks, but before Tatiana could say anything Finn starts over.

"So Mount Weather. When do we leave?"

"Right now." Clarke says as she stands up. "We'll be back tomorrow with food."

"How are the two of you going to carry enough food for one hundred?"

"I'm coming too." Tatiana says.

"That's still not enough." Wells says. Finn turns and grabs the boy before, the one who got into Tatiana's space, and another boy.

"Five of us. Can we go now?"

"Sound like a party. Make it six." Octavia runs over. Tatiana sees Octavia as damaged as her. They both were locked up a lot, but Octavia has what Tatiana calls 'Freedom Fever'. She got a taste of what it's like being outside her jail and now she can't get enough of it. That's dangerous. Freedom Fever is dangerous, it breaks rules number two and eight, don't take risks and survival.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Tatiana sees Bellamy as a man that is solely looking out for his sister and himself. That could be dangerous too. That means he doesn't care about anyone else.

"Going for a walk."

"Hey, were you trying to take this off?" Clarke asks Finn.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, this wristband transmits your vital signs to the ark. Take it off and they'll think you're dead."

"Should I care?"

"Well, I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead." Tatiana looks down at her bracelet. She doesn't have anyone she loves. Her mother was dead, her stepfather was dead, but she never cared for him anyway, and she has no friends. She has no one, so no one would care if she was dead. "Do you want them to follow you down here in two months?" Tatiana looks at Bellamy and sees a flicker of worry in his eyes. "Because they won't if they think we're dying." Tatiana doesn't like the look Bellamy has just now. The look that means he's up to no good. "Okay. Now let's go."

Tatiana walks behind Finn and the other boys. "Tatiana, I just wanted to apologize." Tatiana frowns as she looks at the two-close-for-comfort-boy with the goggles. "I didn't mean to upset you. You really don't like guys do you?"

"You wouldn't either if you lived with the type that I lived with." Tatiana says as her eyes scan the surrounding area. Her father had died when she was little. He had been the only man that Tatiana knew to be good. He used to read to her every night and taught her tracking, he had a book of animal prints that he taught her. It'd be useful down here now, Tatiana thought as her eyes fall to the ground.

"I'm Jasper, by the way. This is my best friend, Monty."

"Tatiana." She replies as she looks up from the ground. She moves forward and past Finn and Octavia. She wasn't a fan of crowds or people in general. As a kid, she was barely allowed to leave her quarters to explore to Ark nevermind be allowed near other people. By the time she was ten, she was locked up in isolation in the Sky Box. This is the first time she ever been with people beside the guards. It's a bit overwhelming, especially since half are men.

"Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" Clarke asks.

"Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out?"

"Well, it's simple. I wonder, 'Why haven't we seen any animals? Maybe because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us.' Sure is pretty, though. Come on."

"Someone should slip her some poison sumac." Tatiana looks at Octavia. She was beginning to like her less and less and yet she understands her more and more.

Tatiana didn't say anything as the five of them started off again, following after Clarke. "I got to know what you two did to get busted." Finn says as they walk through the forest.

"Sumac is not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean." Monty tells them.

"Someone forgot to replace what we took." Jasper adds.

"Someone has apologized, like, 1,000 times."

"How about you, Ocatvia? What'd they get you for?"

"Being born." She answers after a moment, running ahead.

"Uh... What about-"

"You don't want to know." Tatiana answers, moving ahead to catch up with the other girls. They reach Clarke and Octavia. The girls were crouched and Clarke signaled for them to be quiet. Up ahead was a deer. Tatiana never saw an animal before, but it was beautiful. It was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A real deer out in the wilderness.

"No animals, huh?" Finn asks. He moves slowly forward to get a closer look.

"Maybe you shouldn't." Tatiana whispers, but just as she says that Finn steps on a branch, causing the deer to lift its head and looks their way. Tatiana has to cover her mouth to prevent screaming. The deer was a freak of nature. It had another head attached to its face and was totally messed up looking. The noise it made sent chills down Tatiana's spine. The deer was no longer beautiful, but instead it was horrifing. It bounded away, leaving the six kids absolutely speechless.

* * *

"Hey, you know what I'd like to know?" Finn asks as they walk further through the woods, going down a steep hill. "Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?" It was something that Tatiana had been wondering about. Why send them down there when it should have been a hundred.

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did." Octavia says.

"We should find out answers." Tatiana whispers. "We know nothing of this planet. We don't know the dangers. What could possible be bad enough to send us down here early?"

"Lighten up, Ana." Tatiana jaw locks, her teeth grinding in irritation at the nickname. Her name was Tatiana not Ana. She didn't want nicknames. "I woke up rotting in a cell and now I'm spinning in a forest."

"Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite or-" Jasper begins only for Clarke to cut him off.

"It wasn't a satellite. The ark is dying." Tatiana stops and turns to look at her. She didn't have family on the ark, no one loved or cared for her. Not anymore. Those on the ark are nothing but strangers to her. People who she was indifferent to, but apart of her couldn't help but think about the children on the ark. The innocent souls who may perish. "At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone." Tatiana swallows the lump forming in her throat and quickly catches up to Clarke. She takes Clarke's hand, her own shaking with fear. Clarke laces their fingers together and squeezes in hopes of reassuring the young girl. Tatiana didn't know Clarke well, but she felt safe with Clarke. She knew Clarke would protect her.

"So that was the secret they locked you up to keep, why they kept you in solitary, floated your old man?" Finn suddenly asked.

"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells-"

"What, turned in your dad?" Finn asked.

"Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time."

"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Monty asks. Clarke didn't asnwer, but she didn't have to.

"Good." Octavia says, jumping off and landing in front of Monty and Jasper. "After what they did to me, I say, float them all."

"You don't mean that." Jasper calls, while Tatiana stares after Octavia. A part of Tatiana wanted to agree. The guards were horrible, disgusting, cruel. They deserved death, but that didn't mean the entire ark deserved it. There were some good people left. Kids, women, elders. People that deserved a chance at life.

"We have to warn them." Finn says.

"That's what my father said." Clarke takes Tatiana's hand again and begins to lead her further into the forest, behind Octavia and Jasper.

"Oh, damn, I love Earth." Jasper says as Clarke walks almost right into him. "Oh! Holy-" Tatiana looks away as Octavia strips off her jump suit, leaving her in a tank top and underwear.

"Octavia, what the hell are you doing?" Tatiana squeezes her wrist, closing her eyes tightly. Octavia went through hell, but she didn't have a single scar. Tatiana bites her lip, feeling her eyes sting with unshed tears. She had more scars than skin at this point.

Tatiana heard a splash, giving her the hint that Octavia jumped into the water. She felt Clarke's hand on her before she started leading her towards the cliff and the water. "Octavia..." Finn says as they see her floating in the water. Tatiana swallows thickly.

"Rule number two. Rule number two." Tatiana whispers to herself, staring fearfully at the water. "Don't take risks. Don't take risks.

"We can't swim." Jasper says.

"I know, but we can stand." Octavia says as she stands fully up, the water going no higher than above her belly button.

"Wait, there's not supposed to be a river here." Clarke says, causing Tatiana's instincts to pick up. Fear clawed at her skin, digging into her veins. The water looked innocent, but something about it didn't sit right with her.

"You should get out of the water." Tatiana whispers.

"Well there is." Finn says, not hearing Tatiana. "So take off your damn clothes."

"Wait, stop." Tatiana says as they begin to undress. "Guys, seriously, stop." She goes either unheard or ignored. Every nerve was standing on the edge, screaming for her to run, to get away from the water. She turns to Jasper to see him staring at the water in the distance, he had grown paler and frozen. "Oh my god." Tatiana whispers as she sees something in the distance. "Octavia!" She yelled, causing the others to look at her. "Get out of the water!"

"Octavia, get out of the water." Jasper echos as he snaps out of his shock.

"Get out! Get out! There's something in the water! Get out!" Tatiana screams as the thing gets closer and closer to Octavia. "Get out of the water! Hurry!"

"Get out of the water now!" The others yelled. Tatiana screams as Octavia is pulled under.

"Octavia!" Jasper yells. She screams as she gets only second to be above water. "No."

"Where did she go? She is she?" Tatiana cries as she looks around in the water, trying to find the other girl. "Octavia!" The water was eerily calm, while those on land were breathing heavily and shaking with both fear and adrenaline. "Octavia!" Tatiana screams, her voice hurting with her volume. She heard something breach the water before the sound of Octavia's screams filled the air.

"What the hell is that?" Monty asks.

"We have to save her." Finn says.

"What are you gonna do?" Jasper asks.

"Try not to get eaten."

"No. Wait." Clarke says as Tatiana stares at the water with fear. Rule number two. Rule number two. It kept echoing in her mind as she started to shake. "If we distract it, it might let her go. Help me." Monty, Clarke, and Finn toss over a boulder into the water in hopes of drawing the creature away from Octavia. The creature let go and started swimming very quickly towards the rock.

"It worked. It let her go." Jasper says. "Octavia get to the shore now." He jumps in and grabs her. "I got you."

"Hurry Jasper!" Tatiana yells. "Behind you! Hurry!"

"It's coming back!" Finn yells. "It's headed right for you, guys." Tatiana rushes down the rocks towards the beach.

"Come on. Come on. Keep going." She moves towards the water, careful not to touch it, jumping down on the rocky land that the two were near. She grabs Octavia's arm as Jasper tries to push her onto land. "Keep moving."

"I got her." Tatiana grabs and pulls her onto the rocking land. "Get up here, Jasper." Tatiana grabs his hand and pulls him out. She stumbles slightly as he pushes himself out, causing his weight to fall on her. She grunts as he lands on top of her. The others rush out to examin Octavia's leg. "Jasper-"

"Sorry." He rolls off her, staring up at the sky panting. "Sorry."

"Okay." Clarke says, leaning over and ripping a piece of fabric from Jasper's shirt, wrapping it above Octavia's wound.

"Thank you. Thank you, both." Octavia pulls Jasper into the hug and looks at Tatiana, who scoots away and shakes her head in response to the idea of a hug.

"You're gonna be okay." Clarke reassures Octavia.

"Note to self. Next time, save the girl." They share a laugh, the tension easing up as Tatiana stares out at the water.

"Better note to self, stay far away from the water." She says, causing the group to give noises of agreement.

* * *

Once night fell the group decided to lay down and sleep. Octavia hadn't moved far from Jasper since he saved her. She laid down with her head by his chest, while Monty laid by her stomach. Tatiana laid above them on a hill mossy hill, curled up like a cat. It wasn't her first choice of sleeping arrangement, but she was rather comfortable. The moss was soft and warm. In her dreams, Tatiana doesn't dream of her stepfather or the years of imprisonment with nobody but the evil guards to watch over her. No, in her dreams she is sitting in a meadow of wildflowers, the blue skies above her, the clouds bright and shaped in many different things, the sun shining brightly on her pale skin. In her dreams she is at peace, happy, loved. She doesn't know who the man is, but he's gentle. Sitting behind her in the meadow, holding her in his arms, kissing her neck. Each kiss was a kiss of love. She felt safe for the first time since her father's death. She felt loved.

* * *

Morning came too soon. The memory of her dream still firmly in her head. She wanted to keep that dream forever engraved in her brain, but she knew that eventually she would forget it. She wanted what she saw in the dream. Safety, love, affection. She never thought about it before. All of those things she had always connected to abuse, pain, violence. She found it strange to wish for it now.

The boys came up with a plan to cross the river without touching the water. They would swing across on a vine, but Tatiana was still nervous about it. Many things could go wrong. The vine could break, the monster could leap up and grab them, something worst could be on the other side of the river. Tatiana was terrified to find out what awaits them, but she knew they had to risk this to survive in the end.

"You wanted to go first, now quit stalling." Clarke calls as Jasper and Finn stand on the rocks above them with the vein held in their hands. Tatiana was worried about Jasper. He had grown confident since saving Octavia and wanted to prove himself more in front of the girls, but Tatiana worried he was getting too overconfident. He wasn't going first, but he was going second. Finn was already arrogant, so Tatiana found herself not worrying about him as much. It'll only be a matter of time before he dies from being arrogant. She still had hope of keeping Jasper from dying a stupid death. "Mont Weather awaits." Jasper whispers something to Finn that makes him laugh.

"The apogee like the Indians, right?"

"Apogee, not Apache."

"He knows. Today, Finn." Clarke calls up.

"Aye, aye, captain. See you on the other side." Finn moves back, ready to take off before Jasper stops him.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Let me." Tatiana's eyes widen. She didn't want Jasper to be reckless. They had no idea what awaited them on the other side. Jasper shouldn't go first. "I can doit." Finn hands the vine to Jasper, causing Tatiana's stomach to drop.

"Knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Jasper laughs nervously. "Hey, it's okay, don't be afraid. The trick is not fighting it."

"See you on the other side." Tatiana rolls her eyes. Finn needs to watch what he says and does because it is clear Jasper sees Finn as a role modek and a hero. Jasper swings over screaming as Tatiana watches with her lip between her teeth. Towards the end Jasper has to let go and jump, causing him to fall on the rocks on the other side.

"Jasper!" Tatiana calls nervously. They move to the rock's point to look at Jasper, while Finn catches the vine.

"We are apogee!" Jasper yells as he stands back up. Everyone screams and cheers.

"You did it, Jasper!" Clarke yells.

"Let's go, princess. You're up."

"Come on, Clarke! You got this! Whoo! Apogee!"

"Come on, Clarke. Go make history." Tatiana says.

"We did it!" Jasper yells, holding up a sign. It read Mount Weather. "Mount Weather!" Tatiana smiles, but that smile slowly falls as she watches in almost slow motion as a spear pierces the air and hits Jasper right in the chest, causing him to flying back.

"JASPER!"

* * *

AN: So as you can see, things are picking up. Tatiana is getting a front-row seat of what dangers are actually on Earth. Of course, we all know it is only going to get worst, hopefully Tatiana can handle what is to come. The big question is, will her rules be able to keep her safe and breathing.


	4. Chapter 3: Are Men Monsters?

The five of them run through the woods, trying to get back to camp and away from whoever else is in the woods with them. Tatiana knew she shouldn't have joined them on the walk. It was a very gray area. On one hand, she needed food to survive, which meant going with them on the walk for food, but on the other hand going on the walk with them could be life-threatening, so waiting for the food back with the others could be a better use of survival. It was all very wishy-washy. Either way, getting chased down by some psycho in a radioactive soaked forest with creatures from hell in it, was not the way Tatiana planned her day. She almost wished she was in her room in the skybox rather than here in this horrible place. Earth was not everything she dreamed about. It was every nightmare she ever had.

"Come on, Ana!" Clarke yells, holding Tatiana's hand as if afraid Tatiana would disappear. Her ginger hair flew back from her face like a war banner or like blood. Tatiana didn't want to think about that as she picked up her speed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her breath coming out in short pants. Her legs were screaming for her to quit, to lay down and just give in to whatever was to come, but the rules screaming inside her head were louder. Rule number eight: Survive. She had to survive. She needed to keep running if she wanted to live.

Up ahead Monty trips, face planting the ground. "Monty!" Clarke calls as they rush him. Right in front of his face was a skeleton that looked to have been there for a long time. It sent a chill down Tatiana's spine.

"Come on, we got to go." Finn calls as he and Octavia try to get Monty up off the ground.

"Monty, get up!" Clarke yells as Tatiana stands in front of her, looking around anxiously. She just wanted to get back to camp. At least there they have the numbers and hopefully more safety.

"Who are they?" Tatiana looks around and sees more skeleton. They were in a graveyard. Another chill raced down Tatiana's spine. She clings onto Clarke's hand like a frightened child. She hated feeling like this, but she was scared and so far Clarke is the only one she feels safe near. No matter what rules 3, 4, and 9 says. She trusted Clarke and she looked towards her for safety.

"What are they?" Clarke asks as she picks up an oddly shaped skull.

"We are so screwed." Octavia pants, holding onto Monty's arm and looking at Tatiana and Clarke. Suddenly Jasper's scream broke out, causing them all to jump and gasp.

"Oh, god, Jasper." Tatiana cries, holding her hands to her mouth.

"Jasper. He's alive." Clarke says as tears filled Tatiana's eyes. They left him to die. Now he's being tortured.

"Clare, wait. Wait!" Finn yells as Clarke rushes past them and heads back in the direction they went to. Tatiana takes a second before she runs after them. They were running back in the direction of danger. Rule number eight was screaming in her mind, but all her mind really could think about was Jasper. She didn't want him to die. "Wait. Stay out of the trees." Finn whispers as he grabs Clarke and stops her from going forward. "He was right there." The spot Jasper had been laying was no vacant.

"No. Where is he?"

"They took him." Clarke whispers.

* * *

Tatiana could not stop shaking. Just yesterday she was dreaming about meadows and blue skies. Now… Now she was losing people and on a planet with countless dangers. Tatiana never allowed herself close to anyone, but that didn't mean she wanted people to die without just cause. Jasper had seemed like a good guy. One of the few. Men were monsters, but Jasper was just a boy.

When the group makes it back to the others they stumble upon a fight between Wells and the other boy who had tried to fight him a few days ago. Wells had a knife to his throat and it defiantly did not look good. "Wells!" Clarke shouts as they walk down the hill and over some logs. "Let him go!" Wells pushes the boy out of his reach, but that didn't matter. The boy got right back up and was ready to fight again.

"Whoa. Hey!" Bellamy grabs the boy. "Enough, Murphy." Tatiana looks at Bellamy. He was no boy. He was a man. All men were monsters and Bellamy sure looked dangerous. Now outside the guard uniform, Tatiana could see the muscles he had. He was in a t-shirt that clung to him, showing off the scrumptious body. He was tall, dark, and sexy. Tatiana was sure he would turn heads on the ark and maybe even on Earth, but Tatiana planned to stay far from him. He was a man and men were monsters. "Octavia. Are you alright?" Tatiana and Monty were helping Octavia done the hill as Bellamy ran over. Tatiana flinched as he got closer, but kept her grip on Octavia so she didn't fall.

"Yeah." Tatiana got her chance to let go of Octavia when Bellamy grabbed her. Tatiana moves quickly to Clarke's hand, accepting the hand she had offered.

"You okay?" Clarke asks.

"Yeah, just…" She looks over at Clarke and Clarke nods in understanding.

"Where's the food?" Bellamy asks.

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn says, sitting down to catch his breath.

"What the hell happened out there?"

"We were attacked." Clarke explains.

"Attacked? By what?" Wells asks.

"Not what. Who. It turns out when the last man from the ground died on the ark, he wasn't the last grounder." Finn corrects and explains.

"It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here, survivors. The good news is that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will."

"Where's the kid with the goggles?" Wells asks, causing Tatiana to move closer to Clarke, covering her face with Clarke's shoulder.

"Jasper was hit." Clarke says, squeezing Tatiana's hand tighter. "They took him." Clarke looks down at Wells' wrist before grabbing it. "Where is your wristband?"

"Ask him." Wells says, looking over at Bellamy. Tatiana looks up and over at Bellamy with worry in her eyes.

"How many?" Clarke asks.

"Twenty-four and counting." Murphy says. Tatiana looks down at her wrist, staring at the band that is locked on her.

"You idiots." Clarke whispers. "Life support on the ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing us!"

"We're stronger than you think." Bellamy spoke up. "Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same?" Clarke looks towards Tatiana, but she wasn't looking at Clarke. Bellamy was partially right. The system down here will be just like it was up there. A hierarchy of bullshit. "We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore!" Bellamy makes a good argument. Tatiana wants to agree with him, but all men are monsters. She can't trust him. She can't trust anyone. The only person she can trust is herself. And maybe Clarke. She has to side with Clarke. She can trust Clarke. She looks up at Clarke and squeezes her hand.

"I'm on your side." She whispers to the blonde.

"They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" The kids cheer. Clarke rolls her eyes and grabs Tatiana's hand, leading them away from the ground. Monty follows after them.

"What do we do now?" Monty asks.

"Now we go after Jasper." Tatiana glances behind her at the kids. They all got Freedom Fever and there is no telling what they'll do with their newfound freedom, especially with Bellamy whispering in their ears. The only safe place for Tatiana is beside Clarke, which meant Tatiana was going to follow her into battle. Rule number eight was screaming in her head, but right now Tatiana knew being out in the woods with Clarke was safer than being here with boys that she didn't know.

* * *

Tatiana sits down on the platform inside the second floor of the ship, while Clarke scavenges thing that she thinks might come in handy. "You know what happened to Jasper was none of our faults, right?" Tatiana whispers. "We didn't know what would happen."

"You live by a set of rules, right, Ana?" The sad thing was that that nickname was growing on Tatiana.

"Yes."

"Would you have taken the risk to go across the river?"

"Not until everyone else had… wait… no, I would go second to last just in case something in the woods were waiting for one person to be left." Clarke looks at her for a long moment before sighing.

"Jasper shouldn't have taken the risk."

"Jasper did what he thought he should. Yes, he took a risk and yes he did it for stupid reasons, but we all knew that one of us had to take the first swing. Jasper made the first swing and took the punishment for it, but that wasn't our fault. We didn't know what was out there, but we did know that we had to get to Mount Weather."

"But you said yourself you wouldn't have gone first."

"No, but I would have gone. We all would have. It wasn't any of our faults." Clarke stuffs the map in the bag, not saying anymore on the matter. Tatiana could tell that Clarke blamed herself. Clarke was the type to take responsibility for everything, even the things that were out of her hands. Clarke started to pant, a sign that she was fighting the urge to break down. Tatiana slowly moves off the platform and kneeled down beside Clarke. She moved slowly as if she was a frightened animal not wanting to get bit. She wraps her arms around Clarke and pulls the blonde into her, hugging her and trying to comfort her. Tatiana hadn't touched another person like this since her father. Hugs were so strange, oddly comforting and warm. It made Tatiana feel better. She only hoped Clarke thought the same thing. Clarke wraps her arms around Tatiana and the two stayed kneeling on the cold hard metal, hugging each other in silence.

The door opens, causing them to pull apart. "There you are." Clarke discreetly wiped her eyes and Tatiana moves back to sit down on the space of floor she called hers, pulling her knees to her chest and resting on her chin on top. "When my father said they didn't leave us anything, he really meant it." Wells says as he hops down on the lower platform that Clarke was now standing on.

Tatiana looks away as Clarke and Wells look at each other, having a moment together. She could tell that the two once had something. Whether that be just a bond between friends or more, Tatiana didn't know, but she did know that that bond was strong despite the problem the two had. "It's just a scratch." Wells reassures Clarke as Tatiana stares at the wall, trying to not ruin their moment.

"You're making friends fast." Clarke moves towards Tatiana, glancing back at Wells. "Keep it covered. It could get infected." She looks over Wells. "Nice pack."

"Yeah, seat belts and insulation. I also packed part of the parachute, I figured we could use it to carry out Jasper-"

"Good. Give it to someone else." Clarke takes Tatiana's hand, pulling the ginger to her feet. "You're not coming with us."

"My ankle's fine." They make their way towards the latter.

"It's not your ankle, Wells, it's you."

"You came back for reinforcements, I'm going to help."

"Clarke, he's right. We need him." Monty calls from behind them. "So far no one else has volunteered."

"I'm sorry, Monty, but you're not going, either."

"What?" Tatiana asks, confusion filling her voice.

"Like hell I'm not. Jasper's my best friend."

"You're too important." Tatiana gives her a confused glance, but before she could ask anything Clarke continued. "You were raised on farm station and recruited by engineering."

"So?"

"So food and communication." Clarke moves to him. "What's up here, it's gonna save us all." She tells him, touching his temple. "You figure out how to talk to the ark and I'll bring Jasper back."

"What about me?"

"You're safer by my side." Clarke says, holding Tatiana's hand tightly. "I don't trust those guys to watch out for you." That made Tatiana feel better. "Monty and Wells wouldn't be able to stand up to everyone if something were to happen."

"I understand. Thank you." Clarke smiles.

"I promised I'd protect you, Ana, I'm keeping that promise." The two turn to head out. "Hey. You ready?" She asks Finn.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither should any of you. The spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from three hundred feet."

"Jasper is in danger." Tatiana whispers. "We need to save him."

"Yeah, Ana's right. We let Jasper die?" Monty asks.

"That's not gonna happen." Clarke says. "Spacewalker? What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer. You're really just a coward." Clarke moves and picks up more things, but Finn stops her.

"It's not an adventure, Clarke. It's a suicide mission." Tatiana's eyes narrowed.

"If you were out there, wouldn't you want someone to come to rescue you? It almost was you instead of Jasper. It should have been you. You were supposed to cross first. Jasper was just some kid trying to impress a girl. You were the one who wanted to go first." They all fell silent at Tatiana's words. "The least you could have done was offer to save him with us instead of being a coward and hide behind these walls." She grabs Clarke's hand and the two went outside.

As they walk out they see Bellamy fixing Octavia up. Tatiana was still hesitant with Octavia, especially after her foolish swimming instant, but Tatiana also knew Octavia had a good heart. She could see that in how she treated Jasper after he saved her. Deep down she was a good person. She was just trying to find her place in this new world. "What the hell was it?" Bellamy asks.

"I don't know. The others said it looked like a giant snake."

"You could have been killed."

"She would have been if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out."

"Are you guys leaving? I'm coming too." Octavia says as she tightened the wrap around her leg.

"No, no. No way. Not again." Bellamy argues, standing up to face the others.

"He's right. Your leg's just gonna slow us down." Clarke turns to Bellamy. "I'm here for you."

"Clarke, what are you doing?" Wells asks.

"I hear you have a gun." Bellamy lifts his shirt to reveal a gun tucked into his pants. "Good. Follow me."

"And why would I do that?" Bellamy asks as Clarke and Tatiana turn to look at him.

"Because you want them to follow you, and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." Clarke whispers.

"Plus, you owe Jasper. If it hadn't been for him, your sister would be dead. You owe him and I'm thinking you don't like owing anyone." Tatiana whispers.

"Come on." Clarke and Tatiana start walking again, both knowing that Bellamy will follow them.

"Murphy." Bellamy calls. "Come with me. Atom?" The boy who was called moved over. "My sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?"

Tatiana doesn't hear any more as she walks further into the woods alongside Clarke. "Those guys aren't just bullies, Clarke. They're dangerous criminals." Wells tells them.

"I'm counting on it." Tatiana glances over at Clarke with a raised eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because they might be the only ones able to help us save Jasper. They aren't afraid to kill. And they won't hesitate." Tatiana bites her lip and looks behind her nervously. She could see them talking, but she didn't know what they were saying. Bellamy's eyes moved off of Clarke and onto Tatiana, causing her to flinch and move closer to Clarke. "I won't let them anywhere near you, Ana. You're safe, I promise."

* * *

As they walk further through the woods Tatiana grows tenser. The woods no longer was beautiful and incredible to Tatiana. It was terrifying. "Hey, hold up." Bellamy calls. "What's the rush. You don't survive a spear through the heart."

Bellamy and Murphy walk by their side. Tatiana flinches at their closeness and moves to the other side of Clarke. "Someone's jumpy." Murphy says, causing Tatiana to hold tighter to Clarke's hand.

"Put the gun away, Bellamy." Wells orders.

"Well, why don't you do something about it, huh?"

"Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly." Clarke tells them. "It doesn't mean we have time to waste."

"As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go." Bellamy tells her, grabbing her wrist.

"The only way the ark is gonna think I'm dead is if I'm dead." Clarke says, pulling her arm free. "Got it?"

"Brave princess."

"Hey, why don't you find your own nickname?" Tatiana frowns as she sees Finn. "You call this a rescue party? Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me."

"Not without Tatiana." Clarke says instantly.

"She can come with us." Murphy says, eyeing Tatiana over.

"She is not leaving my side. If anyone thinks of touching her then I'll make sure you're really dead." Clarke threatens. "Come on, Ana, you're with us." She leads Tatiana over to Finn and starts walking further in the woods. "Better late than never."

"I like to think so."

* * *

"I've been thinking about Mount Weather." Finn begins. "How come they didn't attack until Jasper crossed the river? It's not like we were being quiet and they didn't know we were there."

"That is a good question." Tatiana agrees. A lot of what Tatiana knew was being called into question. Finn hasn't done anything to hurt any of them. It made her wonder if all men were really monsters or if just a handful of them were. That didn't mean to say she was willing to be alone with any of them, including Finn. She'll just stick with Clarke. She at least knows for sure that Clarke won't hurt her.

"They waited for us to cross." Clarke says. "The river's a boundary."

"Which means Mount Weather is off-limits."

"How are we gonna get those supplies?" Clarke asks.

"We aren't." Tatiana whispers.

"What are we gonna do for food?" Finn didn't answer as he looked to be thinking or listening. He suddenly moves forward, causing the girls to follow him.

"Wow." Clarke says, staring at a gorgeous waterfall.

"It's pretty, but what if there are more monsters in there?" Tatiana asks.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about water. Plus it's shallow enough not to have any monsters." Clarke reassures. The three begin to head down to the water, walking through it to get some water. The water looked safe, but Tatiana was still cautious. It came up to Finn's waist, deep enough for something to come through.

"Is that such a good idea?" Tatiana whispers, staring at the water with fear. She jumps as Finn splashes her and Clarke.

"Come on, Finn. We don't have time for this." Clarke says as she goes to grab another bottle.

"Clarke, we're been hiking for hours. We need to take a break."

"I'll take a break when we find Jasper. Come on." Finn starts making his way out, almost tripping. Clarke grabbed his hand and he looks up at her with a grin. "No, no. Finn! Don't!" He pulls her into the water as Tatiana watches from the safety of her rock. "Damn it, Finn!" Clarke says as he gets them both in the water. Tatiana smiles as she watches Clarke splash him.

"Oh, wow. Okay." Clarke says as she stands in the water. "Maybe just a minute."

"Yeah." Finn grins. "Come on, Ana."

"No." Tatiana says, her smile falling.

"Come on, Ginger, you need to cool down."

"No, Finn." He grabs her. "No! Let go of me-" He throws her in the water.

"You need to clean up, you whore." He snarls as he grabs her.

"No, let go of me! Let go of me!" Ginger screams as he drags her to the bathroom. "No! Let go!" She cries, kicking and fighting against him, but he doesn't let her go. He rips her dress off her and throws her into the tub. She screams, the cold soapy water flowing into her mouth. She tries to sit up, but he holds her down. She kicks and struggles, her vision turning black.

"Ana!" Clarke yells pulling the ginger from the water. Tatiana was still struggling and crying out for them to stop, but her mind was back there. Back with that monster. "Hey, hey, Ana, it's me. It's Clarke. You're okay. You're safe." Clarke holds Tatiana as she cries, her entire body shaking from the ptsd.

"Tatiana, I'm-" Finn goes towards Tatiana, causing her to scream and cry harder.

"Finn, just stay back. You're making things worst."

"Stay away, stay away." Tatiana cries, clinging to Clarke, looking for the safety she never had.

"Shh, I got you. I got you, Ana, you're okay. You're okay." Clarke rocks her and gentle hums, calming Tatiana instantly. Her father used to hum whenever she was scared. It always made her feel safe and calm. "Shh, that's it. Just breathe. You're with me. We're on Earth and right now we're safe." Tatiana blinks and looks around with tearful eyes. Finn is standing further away, looking at her with regret and worry.

"Tatiana I didn't-" She hid her face in Clarke's neck.

"Just give her some space and time to calm down, Finn." Clarke says. "Ana, we have to keep looking for Jasper. Are you okay to walk?"

"Yes." She croaks out.

"Okay, let's get up and out of this water." Clarke had moved them closer to the rocks, but they were still in the water. As they stand up Clarke noticed something. She lets go of Tatiana, causing the girl to whimper. "Hey, it's okay, come on." She takes Tatiana's hand and leads her towards whatever she sees. When Tatiana got closer she could see blood on some rocks. It looked as if someone was dragged. They all shared a look before Clarke looked closer. She crouches down and picks something up. Tatiana says with wide eyes as she sees the goggles in Clarke's hands.

"Jasper." Clarke says. "He was here. We should get the others." Finn crouches down and puts his fingers in some of the blood, pulling it away and looking at his fingers.

"We're close."

* * *

When they get the others back with them, Tatiana stays very close to Clarke with her head down. "Is she okay?" Wells asks.

"Just give her some space." Clarke says, loud enough for the others to hear. "She just needs some space. It's going to be okay, Tatiana." Clarke says, holding Tatiana's hand tighter.

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy asks.

"We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker." Bellamy says. Tatiana's a tracker, but she is too shaken to even begin to think about tracking.

"It's called 'cutting sign'. Fourth-year earth skills. He's good." Wells tells them.

"My dad taught me." Tatiana whispers. It's the first thing she has said since the incident at the waterfall. "He used to be very skilled in hunting and tracking."

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn asks, causing Tatiana to jump and cling tighter to Clarke, something that didn't go unnoticed by the others. "Ana-"

"Finn." Clarke gives him a warning look as Tatiana tightened her grip. Finn sighs and goes back to tracking. He stops at a small tree where a branch was broken. He crouched down and looked on the ground to see more blood. Clarke crouches with him, while Tatiana stays behind Clarke.

"You okay?" She jumps, looking over to see Bellamy looking at her. She looks quickly away and moves a step closer to Clarke. A distant moan is heard, causing Tatiana to close her eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy asks as Finn and Clarke slowly stood up.

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke tells Bellamy. They move further into the woods, down the path that the blood was. Tatiana stuck close to Clarke, standing between her and Wells. When they got to a clearing Tatiana has to put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.

"Jasper." Clarke whispers. Jasper was tied into a tree with no shirt and covered in blood. "Oh, my god."

"Clarke be careful." Wells says.

"Jasper?" Tatiana moves with Clarke.

"What the hell is this?" Bellamy asks, standing now behind Tatiana. She could feel his breath on her neck, causing her to both jump and shiver. Clarke was in front of Tatiana and she moves a step forward, stepping on something that made Clarke fall, dragging Tatiana with her. Tatiana gasps, clinging to Clarke's waist as she stared at the pit of spikes.

"Clarke! Get her up!" Finn yells. Bellamy's eyes fell on Clarke and then Tatiana. "Pull her up! Pull her up! Pull her up!" He was going to let them fall. All because of the stupid bracelet.

"Give me your hand, Ana, I can't pull you both up with one hand." Bellamy suddenly says. Tatiana hesitates. "Now, Tatiana!" She lets go of Clarke and screams, Bellamy grabs her hand before she can fall. "I need some help!" Bellamy calls, holding tightly to both girls. Finn and Wells help grabs Clarke, giving Bellamy the opportunity to let go and grab Tatiana with both hands. He pulls her up and brings her into his arms. They're both breathing heavily and Bellamy can feel Tatiana shaking. "Are you okay?" Bellamy whispers his arms tightly around the ginger. Tatiana looks up at Bellamy, her eyes wide with fear.

"Thank you." She whispers.

"Clarke, are you okay?" Wells asks, breaking the spell between Bellamy and Tatiana. Tatiana blushes and moves out of Bellamy's arms. He lets her go and instantly she's back by Clarke's side.

"Yeah." Clarke answers Wells. "Ana, I'm so sorry. I pulled you in after me and-"

"I'm okay." Tatiana whispers, looking back over at Bellamy. "I'm okay." She still was worried about Bellamy, but he did save her. He could have let go of Clarke and let them both die, but he had wanted to save her. He had held onto Clarke in order to keep Tatiana from falling. She didn't know what that meant, but she felt… odd about it.

"We need to get him down." Clarke says after a long moment.

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines."

"I'll do it." All eyes fell on Tatiana. "I'm smaller and faster. I'll do it. I'm good at climbing." She used to climb in the rafters of her room all the time. It had been her safe place. "I need a knife."

"Here." Bellamy moves forward, placing the knife in her small delicate hand. His fingers brushing her palm. Tatiana flinched at the contact, unable to prevent it. The rules were still screaming, but Tatiana found herself ignoring them.

"Thank you." She whispers before pulling her hand away from his. "I'll be quick."

"I'll follow you up, Ana." Finn says.

"Finn-" Clarke begins.

"Okay." Tatiana says, cutting Clarke off. She looks at Finn. "Okay." She repeats. The rules say for her to count on no one, but herself, but she isn't in her cell anymore. She's on a planet that she didn't know with people she didn't know. As much as she wanted to listen to the rules, she needed to also work with these people. She needed them despite not wanting to. She could have died just now, but Bellamy saved her. She needed to at least let these people help her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with you." Wells says.

"No." Finn says. "Stay with Clarke."

"There'll be too many in the tree." Tatiana says.

"There's a poultice on his wound." Clarke says.

"Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Tatiana shrugs off her jacket, leaving her in her tank top. She had changed her clothes before she set out, but she was regretting it now. Everyone could see the burns and scars on her arms. She had so many, but her arms had the most. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, tucked the knife between her belt and her cargo pants, and she began to climb.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing." Bellamy says.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Finn says. Tatiana almost slips at his words.

"Careful, Ana." Clarke calls. Tatiana takes another breath before going back to climbing. Her fingers were calloused from the years of climbing she did on the ark before imprisonment. She makes her way up to Jasper in no time.

"Hurry up, Ana." Finn says as he gets a hold on Jasper, so that when Tatiana is done cutting the vines he will drop.

"Be careful." Clarke says. Tatiana jumps as she hears a growling.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy asks.

"Grounders?" Bellamy asks, almost hopefully. Tatiana cuts faster. She jumps as she hears the growling get closer. She glances over as a creature snarls and begins running towards them.

"Shit!"

"Ana?" Clarke calls as Tatiana pulls her hand away from the vine, blood running heavily down her hand.

"I'm okay." She calls, ignoring the blood and cutting faster. She hisses in pain as the vine rubs against her cut.

"Bellamy, gun!" Clarke calls. He goes for his gun, but he doesn't have it. Wells took it. He raises the gun and fires. It takes him three shots to hit it, but it still keeps running.

"Aim for the head!" Tatiana yells as she continues to cut. She's on Jasper's legs now. "Bellamy!" Tatiana yells as she sees the creature circling him, hidden in the grass. "Someone just shoot it!" She yells, her worry growing. Bellamy saved her, she didn't want him to die.

Suddenly it was gone. No noise. No movement. Tatiana and the others let out a sigh of relief just before it roars and jumps towards Bellamy.

"Bellamy!" Tatiana yells. Wells fires just in time to save Bellamy. Wells keeps hitting the trigger, but the guns empty.

"Now she sees you." Bellamy says as Wells drops the gun. Bellamy looks up and his eyes meet Tatiana's.

"Ana, the vines." She looks away and goes back to cutting the vines, ignoring the question in Finn's eyes.

"Let's just get Jasper home." She whispers. Home. She hasn't had that in years. Was this home now? Her eyes flicker back towards Bellamy. Maybe. Maybe this could be home.

* * *

Tatiana was silent as they get back to camp. "Is he…" Monty can't finish his sentence.

"He's alive." Clarke reassures. "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandage." Bellamy and Murphy lay down the parachute to reveal the panther-like creature that they killed.

"Who's hungry?" Bellamy yells, causing everyone to cheer.

"Yeah! Bellamy! Whoo!"

Bellamy's eyes lock on Tatiana's as Clarke walks away. "Let me help you get that hand fixed up."

"Clarke will look at it." Tatiana whispers.

"Clarke's busy." Tatiana takes a step back when Bellamy took a step towards her.

"I'll look at it." Wills says, causing Tatiana to flinch from him.

"None of you will." Clarke says. "Didn't you hear me. She needs space. From all of you. Octavia, can you look at it?" Clarke asks. "She'll let you."

"Yeah, sure." Tatiana looks at Octavia. "Come on." She hesitates for a moment.

"Ana." Her eyes move to Clarke. "I can't look at it. Let Octavia at least wrap it and I'll look at it when I get the chance."

"Okay." She follows Octavia.

"You really don't like guys, do you?"

"You wouldn't either if you went through what I did."

"Well, whatever happened, you sure got my brother's attention." Tatiana looks back to see Bellamy staring at her. She looks away. She hasn't decided if that is a good or bad thing yet.

* * *

Tatiana walks over towards Clarke and Finn. "They're taking off their wristbands for food?" Tatiana looks over and watches as they break the wristbands. "No way. I-I won't do it."

"You don't have to." Finn walks over towards the fire.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. What, you think you play by different rules?" Murphy asks.

"I thought there were no rules." Finn says before taking the food and walking away.

"Come on." Clarke grins. She walks over and grabs some. Tatiana hesitates before grabbing it. Murphy goes to stop her, but Bellamy puts a hand on Murphy's shoulder, squeezing it a bit too hard. Tatiana's eyes lift to meet Bellamy's. He gives a nod and she gives a smile of thanks before walking away after Clarke. She looks back in time to see another kid trying to copy them. Bellamy grabs the boy's wrist to stop him before punching him. Tatiana froze as she saw the violence. His eyes lift to hers and she gives him a fearful look before hurrying after Clarke. Men are still monsters.

* * *

AN: I changed a few scenes to help further Tatiana's and Bellamy's relationship. As you saw Tatiana's rules are beginning to go ignored. She is beginning to trust more on her instincts than the rules. I think I will continue doing this, but let me know if you wish to see the rules continue.


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